The small French town has been kept "clean"
by the Comte de Reynaud and his family ever since the first Comte ran
off the Huguenots. He controls everything, even writing the young
priest's sermons. He is meticulous, especially in observing Lent. But
Vianne and her daughter comes to town and opens (during Lent!) a
Chocolate shop, which magically feeds the needs of those who eat it. The
Comte knows she must be stopped. Before long, some "River
Rats" (including Roux, who romances Vianne) also come along. There
is a battle between these "clean" forces and the
"unclean." Although before long it becomes obvious that those
who are "unclean" are living out a life a goodness. (Darrel
Manson, Artesia, CA)

In the THE TITANIC penniless Jack
is invited to dinner by debutante Rose. He has no white tie and tails to
wear to the formal occasion, but a friend of Rose dresses him in her
son's formal attire-- which are just his size. If he chose to not wear
them he would be ejected from the dinner, much like the wedding guest in
Matt. 22 who refused to wear the appropriate wedding robe at the banquet.
Those who say they want to live in the kingdom of God decide every day
whether to use the means of grace Christ offers. As Isaiah 61:10 "he (God)
has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the
robe of righteousness..." ( Wayne Evans)

".....We, we in this
congregation, are called to do what comes naturally (!) for one who has
considered the costs and believes, one who has in her back pocket the
promies of God as recounted in our Psalm today?.And what comes naturally is
moving ahead.(!)The community of LeChambon,
France did this. During WWII this protestant peasant French Hugenouts hid,
housed, fed, educated and welcomed hundreds of Jews. They set their face
firmly toward Jerusalem- with all it's suffering, glory, uncertainly and
promise. I believe their story helps illuminate Jesus' greatest hopes and
expectations for his disciples.(!)A Jewish man
who was a baby when his family was embraced by the people of LeChambon
created a documentary film about its story. (We should have a movie time at
BPC to watch it). Put a picture of these people in your head. All in their
70s and 80s at the time of filming, there are neatly dressed in well worn
vests and simple aprons, walking sticks in hand, rosy faced, vibrant. The
filmmaker remarks that hugging one of them is like hugging a tree-these are
solid people. Again and again, when asked why they risked their lives for
their Jewish brothers and sisters, the peasant farmers respond
matter-of-factly with comments like: "Sure, We gave up our bed when there
was no choice.""It happened so naturally, we
can't understand all the fuss." "The bible says feed the hungry and visit
sick. It was the normal thing to do."In an
interview with Bill Moyers about LeChambon, the filmmaker remarks, and I am
paraphrasing, "These days we seem to think that good people are those who
agonize. They " sleep on it"?and maybe in the morning their conscience gets
them to do the right thing. No- this idea is wrong. People who agonize don't
act. And people who act don't agonize."Their path
to discipleship also affirms our Psalm text. Descended from a persecuted
people themselves, the French Hugenouts, theirs was a community who took
great pains to remember the past. As good Calvinists, they had a very high
view of the OT and looked to the prophets to nurture their faith and
conduct. Their most oft sung hymn says, "May the spirit that gave [our]
ancestors life inspire [our] children to follow their example."They credit their natural giving now with the simple fact that they
remember their own story. "There's was not a sentimental faith. Not
extraordinary. It was a solid faith that was put to the test and not found
wanting." (Anonymous contribution)